Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Hot Hot Pancakes! Written by Kimura Yūichi Illustrated by Nishiuchi Toshio Montréal, Quebec: CrackBoom! Livres, 2020. Picture Book. Max is taking care of the house while Mama Mouse goes out for groceries. Like a grown up, he decides to prepare pancakes for everyone. But once his brothers and sisters have been served, Nonesuke realizes he forgot someone: himself! Luckily, Nonesuke can count on his siblings to share. --Editor Pancakes, Pancakes! By Eric Carle New York: Knopf, 1970. Picture Book. By cutting and grinding the wheat for flour, Jack starts from scratch to help make his breakfast pancake. --Publisher Attack of the Scones Written by Josh Funk Illustrated by Brendan Kearney New York: Union Square Kids, 2024. Picture Book. Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast face an out-of-this-world invasion and must rescue their friend and save their friendship. --Publisher Sunday Pancakes By Maya Tatsukawa New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022. Picture Book. Cat invites thei...

  The Yellow Bus By Loren Long New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2024. Picture Book. This picture book chronicles the life of a yellow bus as it's used for a multitude of purposes. The bus starts as a school bus for children, then becomes a shuttle for the elderly. Eventually, it is left under a city bridge where it becomes a shelter and gathering place for unhoused individuals. You may think the story ends there, but the bus is towed to another location where it becomes a playground for goats, and finally for fish. The gorgeous grayscale landscapes in this book contrast from the bus, and the individuals that use it, creating the feeling of life within the bus. Sweeping bird's eye views were drawn after the artist created a model town that he could use for perspective. If you like last year's The Tree in the River and want another book about how things change over time, check out The Yellow Bus. 

Monsters at Christmas Written by Laura Baker  Illustrated by Nina Dzyvulska  Beverly, MA: Quarto Publishing Group, 2023. Picture Book.  Monsters at Christmas is a rhyme-y snapshot of what makes the holiday season so very merry and bright. Whether playing in the snow or drinking cocoa by the fire, these zany monsters are having ALL the fun! And they have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to presents, not to mention Santa Monster’s sleigh and jingle-y reindeer. These colorful characters decorate their houses, make special food, give gifts, attend performances, and celebrate the joy they feel by being together. Page after page of wintery fun, the playful high-jinx never stop.   If you are looking for a high energy bop of a Christmas book, then you’ll enjoy Monsters at Christmas . The simple line illustrations contain easily recognizable colors and shapes to practice with younger children, while the sheer volume of activities and stunts might give older ki...

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall By Jasmine Warga New York: Harper, 2024. Fiction. 211 pages. A painting has been stolen from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum and sixth-grader Rami Ahmed is worried he's the main suspect. His mother works at the museum as the lead custodian and Rami spends a lot of time hanging out at the museum while she works. On the day the painting went missing, the only people there were the security guard Ed, the cleaning crew, and Rami. Then, a mysterious girl appears in the museum. She floats around from room to room and only Rami can see her -- and she looks exactly like the girl from the missing painting. To prove his innocence and help figure out who the floating girl is, Rami partners up with an aspiring sleuth at school named Veda and the two dive into unexpected situations as they try to solve the mystery. This is a cozy mystery that is focused mostly on characters and ambiance and only a little on the mystery itself. Don't read this book if yo...

Christmas stories are an important part of many people's holiday traditions. There are some tried and true classics that will remain favorites forever, but it's always fun to find new favorites and to start new traditions. Whether you're looking to add books into an existing tradition or maybe even starting a new one, check out our list of new Christmas picture books below!  An Anishinaabe Christmas Written by Wab Kinew Illustrated by Erin Hill Toronto: Tundra Books, 2024. Picture Book. An Anishinaabe family heads to visit grandparents on the reservation at Christmas. Baby is nervous to be away from home for Christmas--how will Santa find them?  But as Baby's parents start explaining, Baby soon learns more about the special nature of Anishinaabe traditions and spends Christmas with family combining Western and Indigenous celebrations.  The Christmas Snow Globe By Sibylle Delacroix Edinburgh: Floris Books, 2024. Picture Book. Noah and Lucy desperately want a white Christ...

Juneberry Blue By Candice Ransom Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishing Company Inc., 2024. Fiction. 289 pages. Andie Jennings lives in a small town. Single-digit small. 8 people! Luckily, one of those eight is her close friend Tanner, who loves to go on adventures with her. Andie is prepping for her eleventh birthday, when she will face a test to see what kind of magic, if any, she has.  Unfortunately, her test day doesn't go as she had planned and Andie is crushed. However, there are some unexplained events that she starts to experience, and she has to wonder if her magic is different than the other girls in her family. She tries to distract herself by paying extra attention to Bunch, her little sister. Andie realizes the mysterious see-through cat she is trying to ignore, won't leave her alone, no matter how busy she is keeping herself. Eventually, she gives in and lets the cat guide her places she is afraid to go. This book was a fun read with mystery, magic, ghosts, and beautif...